THE TITAN EXPERIMENT

CHAPTER 20 - Fallout (Ariel Fairhaven)

"Dr. Fairhaven," a nurse said as Ariel arrived at her station and signed in for the day on her eBoard tablet. The print resistant glass of the device was so thin it sensed her lightest touch.

"Commander Drake is conscious," he added. "He's distressed and mumbling, trying to get out of bed."

"Sedate him. Midazolam. Intravenous. Just insert the syringe into his IV."

"Right away." The nurse hustled down the glossy corridor, sidestepping a lab technician that was headed Ariel's way.

Normally, a nurse could administer the drug without her direct approval, although the responsibility for everything fell on her shoulders. But this case was different. Admiral Jax had given her strict orders to supervise every decision concerning Commander Drake and Lieutenant Commander Kailani.

Ariel raised her voice. "Be quick about the sedation. I'm not in the mood to fight a belligerent patient."

The nurse acknowledged the order with a quick nod and entered the room.

The lab tech stopped at Ariel's station. "Speaking of Commander Drake, I tagged you on his blood tests."

"Thanks, Sol. I'll take a peek at them." Ariel tapped her handheld eBoard, and the touchscreen came to life, the test results appearing in a box window. She accessed the report, confirmed approval with her thumbprint and slid the box to the side where it entered Drake's Naval Profile.

"Red and white blood cells are normal, no sign of infection," Ariel said. "He's responding well to the nano-biotics. It's remarkable what we can achieve in a matter of days and even hours. During my rounds, I'll check his vitals and do a body scan, then we'll know for sure where we are in his recovery. I'll be in his room at," she tucked a strand of flaxen hair behind her ear, checked her eBoard, tapping the screen, "at 0900 hours."

"Wow." Sol's curly black hair bordered the genuine glow on her face. Her bright countenance and outlook on life made her one of Ariel's favorites to work with. "That'll be record time. You rarely see patients that early."

"He's flagged as an urgent priority by Admiral Jax. If it were up to me, he would wait like everyone else."

"Let me know if I can help with anything, Dr. Fairhaven."

"You can bet I will."

As Sol continued down the hallway, Ariel slipped into a white lab coat and returned her attention to the eBoard. She touched the screen, scrolled down, and selected Commander Drake's Naval Profile. A thumbnail picture appeared next to his bio and military history.

Her brow rose, but not in amusement as it had before with Zeke. This time she was all business, and what she saw on the commander's profile was quite impressive.

Drake was thirty-two years old. He served in the Border War with Mexico five years ago. Thirty sorties. If she remembered correctly, a sortie was an operational flight by fighter jets, an air mission that put pilots in the crosshairs of the enemy. He had twenty-seven confirmed air-to-air combat kills. Awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in combat. And purely a personal observation, he was a hotshot, as were most of the pilots she knew. She had seen him on the ship before. He walked around like he owned the place, which he did because he was the admiral's favorite flyboy.

After scanning over his medical history and current condition, she passed several rooms where other patients waited in worse shape than Drake. One of them was missing a leg. A woman.

She glanced at the patient I.D. screen next to her door. The glass readout said in soft blue letters, Lieutenant Commander Nova Kailani.

Ariel remembered when they brought her in three days ago. She coded twice before they stabilized her and put her in a room.